Round 09: United States

Tiago Monteiro made a textbook start from the second row of the grid in Race 1 at Sonoma to jump into second place on the very first corner, a position he held for the full 13 laps of the race to collect a valuable 18 Championship points. Tiago, who has been consistently quick all weekend in California, set fastest lap of the race in his challenge to get on terms with pole man Tom Chilton but was delighted with second overall. The Portuguese was just 2.16 seconds behind the winner having eased off the challenge in the last two laps.

Gabriele Tarquini,Norbert Michelisz

Gabriele Tarquini

Gabriele Tarquini also made a great start in the second Castrol Honda claiming 6th place on lap 1 and holding this place to the checkered flag. “I made a good start and got up into 6th place on lap 1 and managed to hold off the early challenges. Then it was important to keep the car in good shape for Race 2 where I start on the front row so we will have a big battle for the podium,” said Gabriele.

“I was very pleased with the Civic which has worked very well all weekend. For the first 5 laps I was really attacking the leader and expecting him to make a mistake so that I could get the advantage. It didn’t happen so we are very pleased to be a strong second. Whilst I start Race 2 on row 4 we can get a good start and be in the fight for the results,” said Tiago at the post race press conference.

Following yesterday’s official qualifying three cars were found to contravene the Championship’s technical regulations and their times were eliminated sending them to the back of the grid for both races. This included Michel Nykjaer which resulted in a big change in the grid. Mehdi Bennani will now start Race 2 from pole position with Gabriele alongside him on the front row.

In this morning’s warm-up Norbert Michelisz set fastest time of 1m 45.917s to confirm that the replacement engine in his Honda Civic was working perfectly. The time in fact was quicker that he set in the official qualifying yesterday to take 7th position prior to being placed at the back of the grid for Race 1 having changed the engine. Norbert’s plan was to stay out of trouble in the first race to be ready to attack from the second row in Race 2 in search of another podium result. He finished Race 1 in 20th place.

Daisuke Horiuchi, Large Project Leader for WTCC development from Honda R & D confirmed that the Civics were running perfectly during the race. “We can see on the data that all the systems are normal so we are expecting good results in the second race.”

The grid for Race 2 has the top 10 positions reversed from Race 1 so Gabriele Tarquini will start on the front row and be challenging for his second victory of the year.

Tarquini Victory Seals World Championship Title for Honda Civic

Gabriele Tarquini took a resounding victory in Race 2 in the WTCC event at Sonoma, California this afternoon to record his second triumph of the season, his 19th career win and to secure the FIA World Touring Car Manufacturers Championship for Honda. Points scored by all three Civics in the series have contributed to the Championship title.

Gabriele Tarquini

Tiago Monteiro

Gabriele Tarquini took a resounding victory in Race 2 in the WTCC event at Sonoma, California this afternoon to record his second triumph of the season, his 19th career win and to secure the FIA World Touring Car Manufacturers Championship for Honda. Points scored by all three Civics in the series have contributed to the Championship title.

Honda Civics came home in first, third and fifth places to highlight the competitive pedigree of the Civic in the first season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship competition. Norbert Michelisz battled hard to secure third place, setting fastest lap during his endeavors to reach second whilst Tiago Monteiro capped a superb weekend with a fighting fifth place having started 8th on the grid.

Tarquini accelerated past the pole position man soon after the start and steadily pulled away from the field to take victory with a 2.4 second advantage. “My start was like a masterpiece to get ahead of the rear wheel drive car and once ahead I just kept the pace to maintain the gap in front. It is a great victory for me and the team and a very special win for Honda,” said the experienced Italian as he mounted the victory podium. Gabriele has moved to second place in the Drivers’ Championship points table with six races left in the series.

Michelisz was determined to get onto the podium here in the USA and from the second row he chased the pole position car from the start. At half distance he was forced to defend his position against the current Championship leader but the young Hungarian star thrives under pressure and he drove precisely to the checkered flag. “For me and the Zengo Motorsport team a place on the podium here means so much. It is a drivers’ circuit so I am pleased to get this result. The Honda is superb and we get better and better as the season moves on so I am really looking forward to Japan and the last races of the year,” said Norbi.

For Tiago Monteiro Sonoma has proved a very happy weekend with strong showings every time on track. “I have had some bad luck days this season but when you come to this great circuit and get these results it makes everyone happy. Now we move to Suzuka where I started with the Civic last year right at the start of our development program so it will be great to see how far we have moved forward.”

Even a champagne bath on the podium was enjoyed by Daisuke Horiuchi, Large Project leader for WTCC development from Honda R & D. “This has been a perfect weekend for us. The engine mapping that we worked out in free practice has been great for all three cars during the whole weekend in qualifying and the races. The drivers and the team have done a perfect job. These good results will thrill the many Japanese race fans who will attend the next WTCC event at Suzuka on 22 September even more so that an additional Honda Civic WTCC will be driven in that event by Takuya Izawa.”